Matthew Bird, RUSA #14124

Weldon Spring, MO

I discovered Randonneuring purely by accident during the Covid lockdown when I happened upon an hour long video about the London – Edinburgh – London event on YouTube. “That looks like an adventure!” - my internal monologue exclaimed.

After some research, I joined RUSA and started the journey on what it took to become a long distance bicycle rider.

First and foremost, it’s not about the bike. It’s the people. I was instantly welcomed in. Thankfully for me, my first few events were in Alabama and Kansas, so it was Chris Argo and Spencer Klaasen who took me under their wing.

Their knowledge, advice and insight gave me the confidence to resurrect the St Louis region as the RBA in 2024. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind in designing new routes, website design and marketing prospective new members. However with that, it is joyful watching people attain distances they never thought possible.

I am not a long standing member of RUSA, having only been a member for 4 years. I am sure my fellow candidates have much more impressive palmares than I, however having just completed my transition from recreational rider to long distance addict. My passion will be helping others on their own journey from doing the occasional metric century on a bike trail to being able to confidently ride through the night to bag their first elusive goal.

Off the bike I am the proud husband to Erica of 15 years, with 3 amazing boys; Ewan who is 13, and 7 year old twins Stephen and Wesley. I currently work as a CDL instructor at the local community college. 

Questions? Contact Matt at matthewbird76@gmail.com

Dan Colvin, RUSA #8295

Dripping Springs, TX

I have been a RUSA member since late 2012. I think I can best sum up my passion for randonneuring as "I love to do long rides on nice routes with good people". In thinking about how I can give back to RUSA in a way that somehow aligns with this passion, I look at the key components. Long rides are a given in randonneuring. I've been lucky enough to have met a lot of good people on brevets along the way, but I worry about our overall numbers, particularly with our aging demographic. I've given that issue a lot of thought, but am not really an organizer/recruiter by nature, so I don't have a clear picture of how effective I could be on that issue. So, I think that I would focus on the "nice roads" part. I love what's been done with the Permanents program recently, making it easy to sign up and ride a permanent. I think that I would like to carry that forward to make it as easy as possible to create, find and ride a permanent. We have EPP -  let's take full advantage.

Questions? Contact Dan at dancolvin512@gmail.com.

Emily O'Brien, RUSA #3597

Medford, MA

I’ve been a RUSA member for most of my adult life, and randonneuring has been the corner of the cycling world where I’ve always felt at home.

Over the years I’ve volunteered for local events, contributed to American Randonneur, helped to represent RUSA at the Philly Bike Expo, helped out other riders with roadside repairs. And in return, randonneuring has given me friends, gorgeous routes, fantastic places, and a like-minded community everywhere I go.

So I would be honored to contribute to this unique sport by serving on RUSA’s Board. In some ways, I think Randonneuring is the best kept secret in cycling. Our big tent is just waiting to welcome the folks who didn’t know that Rando is what they’ve been looking for, so I hope to do my part to help them find it.

Questions? Contact Emily at emily@emilysdomain.org.

Noah Swartz, RUSA #13453

Oakland, CA

I love Randonneuring. Having an amazing community of supportive, encouraging, and friendly cyclists has helped me push my limits and achieve things I never imagined possible. I believe our community is special and I want to see our sport flourish.

While I haven’t been randonneuring for as long as some of our members, I’ve dedicated myself to it fully over the last three years. I’ve logged over 100 rides, acted as volunteer coordinator for SFR, contributed numerous permanent routes, and written for American Randonneur.

I believe that RUSA should do as much as it can to welcome and encourage riders at all points of their randonneuring journey. I want to ensure that RUSA can be a place where all of these members feel welcome and are given the opportunity to participate. Making space for all kinds of riders is essential to allowing RUSA to grow.

If elected, I’ll ensure the board’s goals and efforts are more visible to members so that everyone feels involved at the national level. We have so many talented members and I want to make sure there are ways that everyone can contribute their skills to strengthen RUSA. I will work to make Randonneuring feel accessible to members at the national and local level.

Randonneuring is a special community because of all of us, and I believe that the only way we can grow as a club is by working collectively to ensure that we are creating the best events, resources, and communities that we can.

Questions? Contact Noah at swartzcr@gmail.com.

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